And while cardiovascular health is important, it's not the only measure of health! For example, the study mentioned above did not consider conditions that might also be relevant to an individual with an elevated BMI, such as liver disease or arthritis. BMI, as a single measure, would not be expected to identify cardiovascular health or illness the same is true for cholesterol, blood sugar, or blood pressure as a single measure.

And, BMI may be particularly unreliable during pregnancy, for athletes, and the elderly.Īctually, this should come as no surprise. Research suggests that BMI alone frequently misclassifies metabolic health, which is linked to how much fat a person has and how it is distributed. Should we stop giving so much 'weight' to BMI? In addition, independent of any particular disease, people with high BMIs often report feeling better, both physically and psychologically, once they lose excess weight.

several types of cancer (such as those of the breast, colon, and prostate)Īccording to the WHO, nearly three million people die yearly worldwide due to being overweight or obese.So then, why does BMI matter? In general, the higher your BMI, the higher the risk of developing a range of conditions linked with excess weight, including For example, results can be thrown off by pregnancy or high muscle mass, and it may not be a good measure of health for children or the elderly. A person is considered underweight if the BMI is less than 18.5.Īs with most measures of health, BMI is not a perfect test. What's a normal BMI?Ī normal BMI is between18.5 and 25 a person with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight and a person with a BMI over 30 is considered obese. Although the origin of the BMI is over 200 years old, it is fairly new as a measure of health. These charts were cumbersome to use, and it was never clear how one was to decide a person's 'frame size.'īMI does something similar: it expresses the relationship between your height and weight as a single number that is not dependent on frame size. These charts came from actuarial statistics, calculations that life insurance companies use to determine your likelihood of reaching an advanced age based on data from thousands of people. A number of years ago, I remember using charts that asked you to find your height along the left side and then slide your finger to the right to see your 'ideal weight' from choices listed under small, medium, or large 'frame' sizes. To understand what your BMI means, it's useful to take a step back and understand what it's measuring and why it's measured.īMI is a calculation of your size that takes into account your height and weight. So, now that you know your BMI, is it worth knowing? What are you going to do with it? What your BMI means Or, you can calculate it yourself, using this formula:īMI = (weight in pounds x 703) / (height in inches x height in inches). If you don't know your BMI, you can use a BMI calculator available online, including this one at Harvard Health Publishing. Do you know your BMI? Increasingly, people know theirs, just as they know their cholesterol level.

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